Longs Peak is a prominent mountain in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Longs Peak is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, United States. Longs Peak stands out and can be seen from most everywhere in Rocky Mountain National Park.
This article will provide 52 riddles about Longs Peak to challenge your knowledge about this iconic Colorado mountain. Scroll down to test your skills at solving Longs Peak riddles and reveal the answers.
Quick facts about Longs Peak
- Elevation: 14,259 feet (4,346 m)
- Prominence: 2,940 feet (897 m)
- First ascent: August 23, 1868
- Mountain range: Front Range, Rocky Mountains
- Named after: Major Stephen Harriman Long
Longs Peak Riddles
Riddle 1
I’m one of Colorado’s famous fourteeners, a peak over 14,000 feet high. I tower in Rocky Mountain National Park, my bare stone face ever skyward. Who am I?
Answer: Longs Peak
Riddle 2
I’m the tallest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, a majestic peak that stands out boldly amongst my neighbors. Climbers struggle up my vertical east face to stand atop my 14,259 feet. What’s my name?
Answer: Longs Peak
Riddle 3
We’re a famous climbing route on Longs Peak’s enormous east face, demanding skill and courage to ascend. Our name references lore of a climbing pioneer’s lost love. What are we?
Answer: The Diamond
Riddle 4
I’m an easier route up Longs Peak for hikers, though still tremendously strenuous. I trace a ridge with mind-blowing views, leading to the summit. What am I called?
Answer: The Keyhole Route
Riddle 5
We’re a sheer 1,000 foot cliff dropping dramatically from Longs Peak’s summit, one of the mountain’s most iconic features. Attempting to climb down us would be suicidal. What are we?
Answer: The North Face
Riddle 6
Wind whips and swirls around me as I cling to Longs Peak’s top. I’m one of the mountain’s most exposed places, reserved only for the boldest and hardiest. What am I?
Answer: Granite Pass
Riddle 7
I’m Longs Peak’s easier but still challenging neighbor, a few hundred feet lower but still among Colorado’s highest peaks. Climbers often practice on me before tackling Longs. What peak am I?
Answer: Mount Meeker
Riddle 8
Look closely at Longs Peak and you may glimpse me, a nearly invisible notch high on the precipitous east face named for a climbing accident. What am I?
Answer: Lambs Slide
Riddle 9
I’m an almost vertical gash splitting Longs Peak’s North Face, a perilous feature visible from the valley below. Fall into me and there’ll be no stopping until you hit bottom far below. What am I?
Answer: Notchtop Gorge
Riddle 10
We’re a pair of small glacial lakes situated dramatically below Longs Peak’s sheer east face, waters that the daring occasionally dare to swim. Who are we?
Answer: Chasm Lake and Peacock Pool
Riddle 11
I’m Longs Peak’s easier neighbor to the south, still a challenging climb with cables fixed to help hikers up my steepest pitches. What peak am I?
Answer: Mount Lady Washington
Riddle 12
We are Longs Peak’s famous north and south twin summits, which summit got named after an eccentric artist?
Answer: Storm Peak (after the writer Storm Crag)
Riddle 13
After Longs Peak, we are Rocky Mountain National Park’s highest summits, far more remote and still infrequently climbed. Name us.
Answer: Mount Richthofen and Hagues Peak
Riddle 14
I’m one of Longs Peak’s most distinctive features, a nearly circular cutout through rock walls high on the peak. Spot me if you can! What am I?
Answer: The Eye of the Needle
Riddle 15
I’m an exposed section of trail along steep cliffs below the Keyhole Route, so scary it’s now fitted with cables and chains. Without them, crossing me would be tremendously dangerous. What am I?
Answer: The Ledges
Riddle 16
We’re a pair of sheer-walled cirque basins dramatically carved into Longs Peak’s east face, often still holding snow late into summer. Name us!
Answer: Broadway and Mills Glacier
Riddle 17
I’m Longs Peak’s shorter neighbor, much greener and rounder than the rocky spires around me. Still, my slopes challenge experienced mountaineers. What mountain am I?
Answer: Mount Meeker
Riddle 18
I’m the awe-inspiring valley that Longs Peak lords over, my meadows and soaring cliffs drawing artists, climbers, and nature lovers. What am I called?
Answer: Glacier Gorge
Riddle 19
We’re a pair of summits very close in height on Longs Peak’s long east ridge. What are we?
Answer: Lambs Slide Overlook and Mount Lady Washington
Riddle 20
Longs Peak climbers must cross me, a notch carved 13,000 feet up between Longs and its neighbor. I’m well named, because climbing up to me is truly the key to scaling Longs by its standard route. What’s my name?
Answer: The Keyhole
Riddle 21
I’m Longs Peak’s shorter neighbor carved by glaciers into a dramatic pointed peak. My name references an early climber, though I’m not named after the same man as Longs Peak itself. What am I called?
Answer: Mount Meeker
Riddle 22
If you look very closely on a hot summer day, you might spot me – I’m a tiny, nearly invisible glacier clinging to Longs Peak’s precipitous north face. What am I named?
Answer: Saint Vrain Glacier
Riddle 23
I’m the easiest “fourteener” climb in the Front Range, a good warmup peak for tackling Longs. My slopes still offer terrific mountain vistas. What peak am I?
Answer: Grays Peak
Riddle 24
Attempt to climb Longs Peak, and you’ll get very familiar with me – I’m the enormous sheer cliff band blocking the easiest route to the summit. Climb up through my notch to continue onwards and upwards. What am I called?
Answer: The Diamond
Riddle 25
We are a pair of summits along Longs Peak’s southwest ridge. The eastern one connects to higher Storm Peak, while I’m the western terminus of the ridge. Name us!
Answer: Mount Lady Washington and Battle Mountain
Riddle 26
Spot me on Longs Peak’s North Face and your eyes are sharp, because I’m tiny – a nearly vanished glacier, Colorado’s smallest named glacier. But I persist, still clinging to the mighty mountain. What am I?
Answer: Sprague Glacier
Riddle 27
I might be Longs Peak’s longest summit ridge, an airy spine extending over a mile to the isolated Battle Mountain. What am I called?
Answer: The Southwest Ridge
Riddle 28
Think Longs Peak is just sheer cliffs? Look for me, the mountain’s gentler side – I’m its largest slope amicable to grass and tundra growth. What part of the peak am I?
Answer: The West Face
Riddle 29
We’re an iconic pair of summits united by a long ridge, the more challenging of us home to Storm Peak. But seen from below, we’re dwarfed in height by mighty Longs Peak beside us. What are we?
Answer: Twin Sisters Peaks
Riddle 30
Don’t mistake me for Longs Peak itself – I’m a lesser summit below its imposing East Face. Still, what I lack in height I make up for in great views from my bald dome. What summit am I?
Answer: Mount Chapin
Riddle 31
Seen from below, we form Longs Peak’s distinctive jagged profile – a sheer north face, bald rounded dome, and spindly east ridge. We’re the mountain’s three most identifiable aspects. Name us!
Answer: The North Face, Notchtop Mountain, and Lambs Slide Overlook (or Longs Peak’s east ridge)
Riddle 32
Don’t look for me on a map – though plainly visible jutting from Longs Peak, I’m too small and insignificant to rate naming. But spotting my notch and overhang make for a fun challenge! What am I?
Answer: Lambs Patella
Riddle 33
I’m not on Longs Peak itself, but rather a small plateau below. Still, cross me and look upwards for dizzying views of the mountain’s towering East Face overhead. What am I?
Answer: Granite Pass
Riddle 34
Spot me not on Longs Peak, but far below – I’m the dramatic glacier-carved canyon providing breathtaking views up towards the mountain and its neighbors. What’s my name?
Answer: Glacier Gorge
Riddle 35
Attempt Longs Peak in winter or hard rain, and you’ll get extremely cozy with me – I’m the steep, slippery gully climbers descend to escape the mountain once commitments deepen. What’s my name?
Answer: The Trough
Riddle 36
I’m likely responsible for Longs Peak’s most mysterious deaths – I’m the bottomless snowfield that swallows climbers who fall through my cornices. Stay far from the edge when traveling over me! What am I?
Answer: Lambs Slide
Riddle 37
I’m not a route up Longs Peak itself, but rather the ascent some mistakenly try after failing to summit via the Keyhole. Turn around at the Keyhole – traversing me leads only to disaster! What am I?
Answer: The Loft
Riddle 38
Spot me as a deep notch on Longs Peak’s North Face. I split the vertical cliff band much like the famous Eye of the Needle – but am lesser-known and only visible from certain angles. What am I named?
Answer: Arrowhead Riviera or North Notch
Riddle 39
I’m the long valley below Longs Peak whose name means “big ice” – fitting, since it still holds glaciers carving at the mighty mountain’s base. What am I called?
Answer: Glacier Gorge
Riddle 40
Don’t mistake me for Longs Peak itself – I’m a much smaller neighbor named for an eccentric artist rather than explorer. But seen from the right angle, I almost look like Longs’ taller twin! What peak am I?
Answer: Thatchtop Mountain
Riddle 41
I’m not on Longs Peak, but a grassy flat below. Cross me, and thrill to dizzying views straight up the mountain’s sheer North Face looming thousands of feet directly overhead. What’s my name?
Answer: Granite Pass
Riddle 42
Seen from Glacier Gorge, we form Longs Peak’s distinctive left and right “prongs” – notched cliffs falling away from the summit’s blunt rectangular prow. Name us!
Answer: McHenrys Peak and Storm Peak
Riddle 43
Don’t confuse me with the nearby Twin Sisters Peaks – I’m Longs Peak’s closest neighbor to the south, named for an 1800s artist rather than any biological kinship. What mountain am I?
Answer: Mount Meeker
Riddle 44
I’m not along the most well-known Keyhole Route ascent, but rather a gully cutting through Longs’ North Face to an exposed pass – landmark of a longer but less-traveled climb. What’s my name?
Answer: Clarks Arrow
Riddle 45
I’m not on Longs Peak itself, but rather an ice-carved col far below. Hike up to me, and be rewarded with perfect views of the Diamond’s sheer eastern face reflected in my waters. What am I called?
Answer: Sandbeach Lake
Riddle 46
Seen from Glacier Gorge, I appear as Longs Peak’s distinctive square “prow”, the flattened left edge contrasting sharply with jagged McHenrys Peak on the other side. What part of Longs am I?
Answer: The Notchtop-Storm Peak massif
Riddle 47
I’m Longs Peak’s nearest neighbor to the south, so similar I’m nicknamed “Little Longs”. But though I mimic its steep cliffs, at 13,039 feet I’m far from the same looming height. What summit am I?
Answer: Pagoda Mountain
Riddle 48
Find me not on towering Longs Peak, but along the Gorge Trail far below – a sheer granite wall and popular photo spot, backed perfectly by Longs’ towering profile. What am I?
Answer: Glacier Gorge Wall
Riddle 49
Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a lake – frigid snowmelt waters fill me where I’m lodged dramatically under Longs Peak’s 2,000 foot-high East Face. The bold occasionally brave a swim! What’s my name?
Answer: Chasm Lake
Riddle 50
I’m not on Longs Peak proper, but the Columbia icefield that once blanketed the Front Range, now vanished and noted mainly in land features. But tiny snow patches named for me still adorn Longs Peak’s heights. What’s my name?
Answer: Saint Vrain (Glacier)
Riddle 51
I’m a small but almost perfect glacial cirque dramatically carved in Longs Peak’s sheer East Face. Peer down my walls for thrilling views towards Chasm Lake far below. What’s my name?
Answer: Lady Washington Bowl
Riddle 52
Seen from below, I’m Longs Peak most identifiable feature – a blunt, flat-topped rectangular prow jutting noticeably. But seen from most other angles, my actual summit joins the ridge extending behind. What part of Longs am I?
Answer: The Notchtop-Storm Peak Massif
Conclusion
So there you have it – 52 challenging riddles about the iconic Longs Peak in Colorado and its surroundings to test your mountaineering knowledge! From its famous climbing routes like the Diamond to diminutive neighbors like Mount Meeker, hopefully these brain teasers gave you a fun mental workout and taught you something new about this beloved state landmark. And now you know it features everything from nearly vanished glaciers to bottomless snowfields swallowing the unwary!
